Like a puppet
by ferretypie
Summary: The appearance of the Kyuubi had drastic consequences for the unborn Naruto. Stress and an early birth lead to deformities and almost to death. But with the gift of the Kyuubi, Naruto could live.
1. What future?

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, and I never will.

* * *

"Damn you, Fox. It's all thanks to you that he's turned out like this!"

Standing firm, his cloak billowing, and his fury of blonde hair quivering against the wind. In his arms, there lays a tiny figure, its chest rising in beat to the furious tempo of war.

"If you hadn't shown up, if you hadn't attacked us, she never would've gone into labour so soon!"

The Kyuubi's eyes bear down on him as he raises the child up against the moonlight. The ghostly skin of the newborn blending against the moon and yet it is this that betrays him, for the infant has but nubs from shoulder down.

Grimacing as the babe lets out a faint cry, the Yondaime's eyes burn savagely at the monster

"This… This is what you've created, along with all this carnage. All the people you have killed and all the children orphaned. But this shall be your down fall, and you will rue the day you angered me, Fox!"

A deadly smile ripples across the face of the demon as he ponders the stupidity of the man. He had already wiped the floor with the forces of the town and how a single human could stop his rampage was beyond him.

The man in question had already placed the child down and was glaring even harder as he threw off his cloak. Arms shakily moving into a 'seal' position and the look of unprecedented anger returning to his face, the Yondaime jumps towards the Fox.

"Laugh if you want, but your life shall fuel my sons own!"

There was a flash of light as the Yondaime's hand graced the Kyuubi's head.  
And all disappeared.

* * *

Short.  
I don't need anyone telling me that, ahah.  
But seriously, the next chapter will be longer I just need to get this out in the open.


	2. Of Puppets and Arms

The floor was wooden and encrusted with ramen stains and stray noodles which had begun gain sentience, the smell the floor gave off was rich and oddly homely. Strange, he thought to himself, the floor isn't usually there in the morning.

"I.. almost want to... lick it"

Luckily, the boy's tongue refused to go near the floor, insisting that 'It wasn't supposed to go there'. The brain naturally agreed with the tongue, and made the child whack its head against the ground.  
Shocked by his body's disobedience , he leaps to his feet and started to beat it up. These actions continue for a few minutes before the boy realising what he's doing, mainly due to the pain, and stops.

"What am I doing!?" He screams, rushing to his cupboard to take out a box of cereal, "I must've dreamt that my body was being an ass to me, yeah that's it!"

Flinging the cereal to the only table in his flat, he climbs onto the work surface and explores all the crevasses looking desperately for a bowl. Eventually he comes across one and though the cleanliness of the bowl is questionable, he shoves that thought away and lets out a cry of triumph.  
Finally something to fill with delicious sugary goodness!  
The bowl now overflowing with brightly coloured foodstuffs, he grabs a solitary spoon from the work surface and a fresh carton of milk from his fridge. He pours the milk and is thankful for the freshness, sometimes he forgets to check the date. The thought causes him to shiver violently.  
Old milk isn't fun.  
As he shovels the cereal into his mouth, his eyes rest on his 'arms'. Ever since he could remember they have been like this. Made of wood reinforced by metal straps, joints emulated with ball sockets. The workmanship amazed him, though he wasn't sure how they worked. He kept them well polished and cherished them well, they came in very useful at moments seeing as he could twist them in unnatural ways.  
But still, he wished the day would come when he could stop wearing gloves and these stupid 'arm socks'. The 'socks' traveled from his wrists up to the top of his arm, just below the shoulder. They were made of a light and flexible orange fabric, after he'd found a stray bucket of orange dye, and were strapped tight against his wooden appendages to keep them from slipping.  
He nearly let out a sigh before he realised how important today was. Today they got to learn how to utilise their chakra!

"Hell yes" is exclaimed and the cereal is discarded, spoon sticking haphazardly out.

Opening his wardrobe with a kick to the bottom, he straps the socks on and pulls out a sleeveless orange and blue jacket along with a plain black shirt. Though many vocally disapprove of the jacket, this will only make him wear it more. Orange truly is the best. Satisfied that the top half of his attire is correctly placed on his body.  
And finally, a pair of black shorts. Usually he'd wear his orange trousers, but it was summer and he didn't have any shorts but these.  
He put these on and jumped into his 'ninja' boots. Bright blue and made of some sort of plastic. Not exactly stylish, but they were given for free so he might as well make use of them.

He snatched his door keys from the floor and fumbled with the lock before kicking it open.  
The sun glared at him and delivered the sweltering heat as he walked through the door.

"Hello morning!" He yelled at the sky before jumping off the stairway and rolling out of the gate.

Konoha was bustling today, the streets filled with merchants, selling all sorts of trinkets, and the various townspeople. The boy dashed through the crowds, deftly avoiding all in his way. Eventually the streets became too much for him, and he headed to the rooftops. Taking in the freedom of the wind as he jumped his way to the Konoha Ninja Academy.


	3. Boom

"Crap, I'm late"

The grounds, usually filled with children, were now only graced by a few startled pigeons with eyes that bulged violently at the boy. The object of their avid annoyance was now making his way towards the entrance of the academy. Their beady eyes followed his every movement. Noticing this, the boy broke away and was forced to dive through the door as the pigeons flew at him.  
Sliding, head first, across the polished pine floor caused the boy to ponder about the estranged city fowl

_They were definitely watching me. Watching... and waiting.  
MAYBE THEY'VE BEEN CHANGED BY THE CHAKRA!?  
Yeah, that's it.  
Ninja pigeons.  
I was attacked by ninja pigeons.  
Eh..._

Shaking the bizarre thoughts from his mind, the boy stands up, brushes himself down and runs to the classroom. The Academy had a soft interior, soft colours and calming wooden floorboard, to distance the children from the reality of being a ninja. Not that this bothered the boy, him being too young and naive to understand.  
The door soon greeted him and through it he could hear his teacher, Iruka-sensei, delivering a sermon on the uses of chakra.  
Delight rippled across the boys face as it cracked into a wicked smile.

_This is gonna be brilliant._

* * *

Iruka sighed. It wasn't like he enjoyed being stern, not at all. He was calm and fun loving, but as teacher he felt that it was a needed quality and he would do all that he could to uphold it. There was another reason of course. The job quickly became monotonous. Day after day , year after year it was the same. A classroom full of fan girls, idiots and loners quickly becomes tiring. To be fair, he did have a soft spot for the little bastards. They a few of them reminded them of himself when he was younger.  
Today's lesson was going to be interesting anyway. Their first usage of battle chakra, this is where they truly became shinobi. On seconds thoughts, that even more worrying. But only slightly less worrying than the ominous snickering coming from outside the door.  
Wait... snickering outside the door?

"...N..NARUTO!?"

It couldn't be, could it? Naruto is in the classroom right? Thoughts flew through Iruka's head and he scoured the rows of seats for a sudden shock of blond hair. There was none.

"Cra-"

Iruka's curse is cut short as the aforementioned blond cartwheels thought the door, only to trip up and sharply plant his face into the floor.  
The class stare at him. Naruto lifts his head up and a trademark grin beams back at them. The class return to what they were doing before the "Idiot" had disturbed them, namely staring at Iruka.  
Naruto was about to stand up when he felt his body rise from the floor. Turning around, he saw the pissed off face of Iruka glare at him. He felt it good to try and warm up to the aggravated teacher.

"Hey there, Iruka-sensei. The w..weather is great today, isn't it? Ahah."

He was greeted by a furrowed brow and the sound of grinding teeth. Probably wasn't the best attempt then.

"Naruto... SIT! DOWN!" Screams Iruka, throwing the unfortunate troublemaker to his seat. Or more literally, into his seat.  
Iruka calmly waited for the blond to reposition himself correctly onto his chair. The teacher, tired of the repeated antics, sighed dramatically, throwing his arms in the airs before returning to the black board.

"And now that that little 'incident' is over, will you kindly permit me to teach you about the wonderful world of Chakra?" He expressed, gazing across a sea of gormless face, beset with islands of angst and annoyance.

"Gooooood" swaggering to the center of attention, smug with satisfaction, " Well, you've studied the theory, and now you're going to try a more physical activity. Now all of you place your hands into the standard 'Chakra-gathering' seal you've all read so much about."

* * *

With contempt, Naruto glared intensely at Iruka. His head smarted from its impact with the chair, which was now bend out position.  
Of course, his mood lightened at the word 'Chakra' and even more so when he heard the order to attempt it. Gleefully, he fumbled his hands into the correct position and awaited the given order.

"Okay, now slowly let your Chakra flow through your body. Come on, you all know how to do it!"

Releasing his Chakra from its core, and feeling it slowly crawl across his coils, Naruto's brow furrowed with concentration. All recollection of a world outside his mind vanished, so intense was the boy. Through up his body it crept, the very power causing him to sweat profusely. Was this how it was supposed to feel? Was he supposed to be worn down this much?  
All thoughts stopped as it reached his shoulders. A sudden emptiness shook him from his concentration, as the power he leaked did not travel to his arms. Grimacing, he drew more Chakra to his arms. He could almost feel his shoulders swell with the strain.  
And then there was a release. The strain disappeared as Chakra flew through Naruto's mechanical arms. With a sudden sense of nausea, his wrists snapped back against his arms with a loud crack.  
From the cavity where his artificial hand had been on his right arm, a metallic object was flung against the ceiling, followed swiftly by a coil of chain. The flechette embedded itself deep into the wood with a loud thunk.  
What followed this event would take a significant amount out of the Academy's funding and thus render Naruto their arch nemesis.  
Erupting from his left arm came a large steel ball, travelling far faster than should be possible. At the moment of contact with the ceiling, the ball exploded violently, shattering the woodwork and releasing enough pressure to slam Naruto and his immediate surrounding into the floor.

Before Naruto blacked out, he caught sight of Iruka's mouth miming one single word.

"Shi..t.."


End file.
